by jboullion | Jun 26, 2009 | Uncategorized
From Habitat for Humanity of Grant County:
Feb. 2009 Heating Bill-$66.00!
Learn About Energy Saving Options & Programs Available to the public which made a $66.00 heating bill possible [for a Habitat for Humanity home in Benton, WI].
Location: Work Site, 177 White Street, Benton WI
Date: Saturday, June 27th
Time: 9am—3 Sessions, attend one or more
Program
Welcome and Introductions—9:00-9:30am
• President of Habitat for Humanity
• Senator Dale Schultz
• Partner Families
• Presenters
Session I—9:30-10:00 Building for Efficiency, Gary Kramer Using Insulated Concrete Forms, In- floor Heating Systems, and Structural Home Options
Session II—10:00-10:30 Solar Hot Water Heating Systems—Todd Timmerman of Timmerman’s Talents and Habitat for Humanity
Break 10:30-11:00 – Cookies & Conversation
Session III— 11:00-11:45 Home Energy Audits and Blower Door Testing—Mark Henning, 7th Power Solutions
Co-sponsors
Focus on Energy SW Community Action Program
USDA Workforce Development
Habitat for Humanity Contact Information
Phone: 608-348-9119
Mailing Address: PO Box 617 Platteville, WI 53818
Office: 135 S Hickory Street Platteville
Email: grantcountyhabitat@yahoo.com
Web Site: www.grantcountyhabitat.com
by jboullion | Jun 25, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a fact sheet published by Focus on Energy:
Rooftop wind turbines are one of the most talked about trends in renewable energy. City dwellers and suburbanites, inspired by the spread of large turbines and intrigued by the idea of producing their own energy, are today inquiring about rooftop wind systems in record numbers.
But just how viable are these systems? Can small rooftop wind turbines ever produce enough electricity to make the investment worthwhile? Find out the answers to these and other commonly asked questions below. . . .
Will a small rooftop turbine power my whole house?
No. Small turbines can only produce small quantities of electricity due to their small rotors.
Rooftops are ill-suited to harness the wind regardless of their location due to the trees and buildings surrounding a home. Rooftops in the city are particularly difficult places to harness the breeze. Not only are cities less windy than the countryside, but the air is turbulent because of trees and the variation in heights of buildings. Turbulence can wear out a turbine and reduce its life expectancy.
One analysis showed that a common type of rooftop turbine (being tested by Madison Gas Electric) “had generated about 45 kWh in about eight months (in a year about 65 kWh). The average single family WI home uses 10,000 kWh/year. Are you ready to live on 65 kWh/year?”
by jboullion | Jun 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a presentation by RENEW’s Michael Vickerman (above) at the Energy Fair of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association:
Energy Policy Must Recognize Energy Realities
+ Supplies of liquid fuels peaked in 2008
+ Capital is disappearing before our very eyes
+ Energy and food are the original currencies
+ The shift from stores to flows is inevitable
+ Current economy is highly energy-intensive
+ Energy return on energy invested (EROEI) must inform decision-making
+ We can’t afford to prop up existing energy sinks or engage in wealth-draining military adventures
Three paths to choose
+ Business as usual
+ Clean green technology
+ Curtailment and community
by jboullion | Jun 23, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an introduction to a guide just released by the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) and Green for All:
Green For All and COWS have just released A Short Guide to Setting Up a City-Scale Retrofit Program. This guide provides a model for designing and implementing energy efficiency retrofitting programs on a citywide scale, with a goal of making these retrofits available to more households and providing good, entry-level jobs with career pathways that are accessible to low-income communities and communities of color.
Energy efficiency retrofits of our homes, schools, and workplaces are the first steps to building an inclusive clean energy economy by addressing climate change, putting people in careers, and reducing working families’ energy bills. Despite their overwhelming economic and environmental benefits, current retrofitting programs have limited capacity and limited scope. Many are available only to income-eligible individuals, or to those with the money up-front to do the work. Furthermore, many current retrofitting programs only create low-wage, short-term jobs, rather than providing pathways into sustainable careers in construction and green building.
Clearly, a new model is needed. This guide is a tool for local organizations, business leaders, entrepreneurs, elected officials, and others in cities across the country to use to promote energy efficiency in their communities. It outlines all of the important aspects of such a program, including policies, labor standards, community coalitions, and long-term funding options.
by jboullion | Jun 17, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Clean Wisconsin:
Madison, Wis. – Wisconsin could soon see greater growth in the promising wind energy industry after the Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities passed Assembly Bill 256 today, a bipartisan bill that would encourage growth in the clean energy industry by replacing a chaotic patchwork of local regulations with sensible statewide standards for permitting safe wind farms.
“Wind energy holds the potential to address many of the greatest problems facing our state –it can clean our environment and reduce global warming pollution while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and creating jobs for hard working Wisconsinites,” said Amber Meyer Smith, program director at Clean Wisconsin the state’s largest environmental advocacy organization. “With so much to gain, we’re extremely encouraged that the legislature seems poised to eliminate administrative barriers holding up the development of this promising infant industry.”
As other industries struggled in poor economic times and cut workers, the wind energy industry grew immensely in 2008 – increasing its national workforce by 70 percent to over 85,000 workers. Unfortunately, while wind developers stand ready to invest in Wisconsin’s economy and put Wisconsinites to work building safe wind farms, a complicated system of over-stringent local regulations currently puts our state at a disadvantage to neighboring states, holding up more than an estimated 500 megawatts of wind farm development in the state.
Assembly bill 256 would charge the Wisconsin Public Service Commission with studying and determining safe permitting standards for wind farms, then replacing the current disorganized system that discourages the growth of the wind energy industry with sensible statewide standards.
